Day One on Mountain Family Reunion

I think these pics speak for themselves...there was a lot of family re-uniting! And gorgeous walks in the mountains!

Who doesn't love Pumkins?

I love the stickers that our pumpkin patch hands out to decorate the kid pumpkins with.  When the kids were choosing their stickers, I eyed the girly eyes with the long lashes as my pick. Not my girl, she went with goofy. We still crack up at pictures of her pumpkin (third pic down).

All Hallows Eve

For Catholics, All Hallows Eve - AKA Eve of All Saints Day. All Saints day is a feast where we celebrate all those who have gone before us, loving our Lord with so much fervency, that by accounts of their lives and miracles that have been performed through them, the Church has declared them saints.  A Saint is someone who is now in Heaven.  But the love for Jesus a saint has isn't just beneficial to those around them when they are alive, but in Heaven they continue to intercede for the world. "[And] they had golden bowls full of incense, the prayers of the saints" (Revelation 5).

If you can't tell, All Saints Day is a big deal.  I missed having a bunch of Catholics friends to celebrate it with here in our new home. We decided to go with the desperate approach to finding friends and asked everyone we could at Mass what they were doing for All Hallows Eve. Thanks be to God, we got a call from a family we had just met to come to their house for a little get together.  So, we asked the kids what saints they wanted to dress up as and prepared.

Margaret Mary wanted to be "Saint Elizabeth of the Hungry," or "her middle name, " (MM is named after this saint).  The Saints real name is St. Elizabeth of Hungary, but we let MM call her "of the Hungry" because St. Elizabeth was known for her love of the poor and being a Princess, she would often sneak food from the royal kitchen to the poor.  The saints give us many examples of how the love of Christ is lived out, our girl has taken to this one in such a sweet way.  Margaret Mary loved learning about this real life princess and it was sweet to see her little heart wanting to imitate this saint.  She said she wanted to give away some of her toys to kids who don't have any, "like St. Elizabeth of the Hungry."  Later, when some guests came to our house, she greeted them with great love and kindness. When I commended her for it, she told me she was being like "St. Elizabeth of the Hungry." 

 

Henry, as I have mentioned on here before, loves playing priest. He says Mass all day long. So, my mom made his a cassock for his costume and we cut up an old curtain for his chasuble.  Henry was St. Josemaria, a priest who founded Opus Dei. Opus Dei, much loved my Jason and I, challenges people to be holy in every detail of their life.  Washing the dishes, disciplining children, combing your hair, all with GREAT love for God. Here is Henry chanting...

I wasn't too happy with the pictures I was able to get of the both of them. But here are some to give you a picture of their full costumes.

Note: I didn't tell them to put their hands together in the praying hold, but I thought it was adorable.

The kids had a great time at the get together. Henry warmed up slowly and Margaret Mary jumped in as soon as we got there. I love this photo sequence. Margaret Mary LOVES friends, as you can see below.

So funny!  We had a great time at our friend's house playing games, dancing and eating good food. I was too busy holding Peter to take lots of pictures, although I was dying to capture the joy in all the children's faces.  MM came up to her Papa and said, "This is the best night ever!" We are so thankful for their invitation to hang out and look forward to more fellowship with them!